Spain challenge Germany in Nyon

A tightly-fought encounter is on the cards as holders Germany and Spain contest the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship final at the Colovray Stadium in the Swiss town of Nyon this afternoon.

Team to beat
One year ago, Germany took the inaugural Women's U17 title with a fine win over France at the same venue. With an array of talented youngsters, they remain the team to beat at this level, and in seven games in the current campaign they have scored 50 goals, conceding just one, which came in Monday's 4-1 semi-final defeat of France.

Bouyant Spain
Facing them is a buoyant Spain side who have entered the finals with a mission to enjoy the occasion. Aiming to match their nation's triumph in the 2004 Women's U19 final against Germany, they gave plenty of glimpses of just how useful they can be in their 2-0 last-four win against Norway. Their durability, mixed with considerable skill, will provide a stern challenge to the outstanding Germans in front of what UEFA hopes will be a sizeable crowd at the venue opposite its Lake Geneva headquarters.

Good atmosphere
Germany's coach Ralf Peter, with a full-strength side, knows all about success at this level, having taken last year's U17 crop to the European women's title and holding a perfect record of 15 wins in as many matches in this competition. "We're in the final, so as you can expect, the atmosphere is really good among the team," Peter told uefa.com. "We're looking forward to the final. I think that if you're a player, and you're playing in a final, you shouldn't actually need a coach to motivate you. It's more a question of tactics and analysing the opposition.Spain are a strong team and they play good football. But I feel that if we can further improve our performance from the one against France – and that is certainly something we can do – then it's possible for us to beat them. But of course we know that it will be difficult."

Experience
Spain will have captain Anabel Martínez available even though she limped off with a hamstring problem late in the first half on Monday. "We're very happy that we have reached this final, and this will give the players experience for the future," said coach Ángel Vilda. "The very fact that we are playing this strong German team will give the players experience. However, we have won the right to compete with Germany. This team is a young team. They know what it is to have fun and what it is to be competitive. It's an adventure, and they are living it."